Saints on the Road

Saints on the Road

            With the distance between the other Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools, it can cause for some serious travel situations. This means that teams have to play conference games in places ranging from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Billings, Montana. Soccer teams in the conference have to travel as far as South Dakota for games. What this means is that teams don’t have the capability to bus everywhere like some schools and that because we are student athletes, we tend to miss a number of classes because of the scheduling.

            For instance, this week our game schedule requires us to fly to Boise, Idaho for our game on Thursday against Northwest Nazarene University and then drive to Ellensburg, Washington for our Saturday clash with Central Washington University. Although travelling can be strenuous academically, it is one of the best parts of being a part of the team because it allows for us to hang out with one another and visit new places. Here is what a normal travel session might include from Wednesday through Friday when we return back to Saint Martin’s.

Wednesday

·         9:30 am Leave SMU for airport

·         10:30 am Arrive at SeaTac and check in

·         11:00 am Go through security and pair up to eat lunch

·         12:40 pm Depart on Alaska Airlines bound for Boise Airport

·         3:05 pm Arrive at Boise airport and pick up bags and vans

·         4:00 pm Check into hotel

·         6:10 pm Meet in lobby downstairs and head to NNU for practice

·         8:00 pm Leave for hotel

·         9:00 pm Eat dinner

·         10:00 pm meet in coach Cooper’s room for film and scouting report

·         11:59 pm In your own room and lights out

Thursday

·         8:30 am Wakeup call and eat breakfast in lobby

·         1:40 pm Meet in lobby downstairs and head to NNU for shoot around

·         3:00 pm Leave for hotel and pick up pregame meal

·         5:40 pm Meet in lobby to head to the game

·         7:30 pm GAMETIME!

·         10:00 pm Leave the gym for dinner and then to the hotel

·         11:59 pm In your own room and lights out

Friday  

·         8:30 am Wakeup call and eat breakfast in lobby

·         10:45 am Meet in lobby to head to airport

·         11:15am Arrive at airport and check in

·         12:55 pm Depart Boise for SeaTac Airport

·         1:30 pm Arrive at SeaTac

·         2:30 pm Arrive at SMU and turn in gear

·         5:00 pm Practice in the Pavilion

·         6:30 pm Watch film and go over scouting report in team room

When the team is on the road and we have free time, for example, the block of time on Thursday between breakfast and shoot around the guys normally do one of three things: homework, sleep, or hang out and watch TV. Although we aren’t required to do homework on the road like some teams, a lot of us do bring work on the road to try and keep up with our classes.